[Is Icelanders' sleep duration getting shorter? Review on sleep duration and sleeping habits].

Sleep health promotion is an ever-increasing subject of public discourse in Iceland. Prominent claims made include that the duration of sleep among Icelanders is shortening, and that changing sleeping habits constitute a significant public health risk. Like many aspects of healthcare, commercial interests and sales hype can skew perception.

[Prevalence of Poor Sleep Quality and Sleep Disturbances in Icelanders with Multiple Sclerosis].

Background: Sleep disturbances are common, underdiagnosed and have negative consequences for people with multiple -sclerosis.

Objective: Gather information about the prevalence of poor sleep quality and sleep disturbances in Icelanders with multiple -sclerosis.

Method: A cross-sectional self-report survey.

Sleep-related sweating in obstructive sleep apnoea: association with sleep stages and blood pressure.

The aim of this study was to investigate sleep-related sweating as a symptom of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Fifteen otherwise healthy male non-smoking patients with untreated moderate-to-severe OSA underwent polysomnography, including measurements of skin and core body temperature and electrodermal activity (EDA) as an objective indicator of sweating. Evening and morning blood pressure was measured as well as catecholamines in nocturnal urine.

Robust circadian rhythm in heart rate and its variability: influence of exogenous melatonin and photoperiod.

Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) undergo marked fluctuations over the 24-h day. Although controversial, this 24-h rhythm is thought to be driven by the sleep-wake/rest-activity cycle as well as by endogenous circadian rhythmicity. We quantified the endogenous circadian rhythm of HR and HRV and investigated whether this rhythm can be shifted by repeated melatonin administration while exposed to an altered photoperiod.

Sleep and sleep habits from childhood to young adulthood over a 10-year period.

The aim of this epidemiological study was to utilise a cross-sectional as well as a longitudinal approach to examine sleep habits and how they develop in young people in Iceland. The 668 subjects (1-20 years) who responded to a postal survey in 1985 were followed up 5 and 10 years later. The majority of the variance in bedtime and sleep duration was explained by age, but also to a considerable degree by other factors such as residence, season, and year of survey or interaction of these factors.